ARCHIVES, SCHMARCHIVES -- I TRIED THE CHANEL LUMIERE D'ETE POWDER!

See? This Chanel Lumière d'Eté powder is just too pretty to mess up with a brush, I thought...

This showstopping Chanel Lumière d'Eté Illuminating Powder in Golden Bronze ($76 CAN; $65 US), the star of the Chanel Summer 2015 Méditerranée collection, looks like a deep shade intended for medium to darker skintones. Better for the beauty archives than my complexion, I thought. But no!

Golden Bronze it is, but so sheer that even pale girls can wear it. I'm wearing coral blush here, too.

Lovelies, this powder is so sheer that even pale complexions should be able to wear it! In the these photos, I'm wearing only the Chanel Lumière d'Eté Illuminating Powder at my hairline on my forehead, on my cheekbones, across the bridge of my nose and on my lids, and I've dabbed a bit of Clinique Chubby Stick Cheek Colour Balm in Robust Rhubarb on the apples of my cheeks. I wasn't even careful -- I rushed it because dabbing a brush on that gorgeous powder was painful like ripping off a band-aid would be.

This is the same application as the first photo, but a shot on a slightly different lighting setting and angle that shows better how not dark the creamy powder is. I used a small compact brush to apply a more generous amount on my lids -- that sleepy-ish look is so you can see. I did try an arm swatch, but I'd have to put so much on to make it show up that I felt it wasn't a true representation of how it looked. Plus, waste!